Orwell residents gather to share a common heritage

Mike Christian decorated a group of proud kids during special award activities at the recent Orwell 250th town chartership anniversary celebration. (Photo by Christy Alger)

On Aug, 18, 1763, the little Town of Orwell was chartered and its lands granted to 64 men. But it took another eight years before settlement occurred in the town.

Orwell’s first settler is recorded as John Charter, a Scotsman who took up residence near what was then known as Rattlesnake Hill, now Mount Independence, in 1771.

By the mid-1770s, a few families were living in town, clearing land for fields and building rudimentary shelters for themselves and their livestock. With the start of the Revolutionary War, most residents returned to the safer, established communities to the south.

Further settlement did not commence until the close of the war.

The British burned nearly all of the buildings in town before the end of the war. Sadly, no pre-revolution structures survive in Orwell today.

During the weekend of Aug. 17-18, hundreds of current and past residents of Orwell—and guests—celebrated their community’s historic 250th birthday.

In addition to many outdoor activities and children’s games, residents learned about their town’s past while having fun.

The Orwell Historical Society Museum was a central focus leading up to the weekend event with exhibits featuring artifacts and personal items from Orwell's past.

Also celebrated were Orwell's more than 200 years of local patriots—from the Revolutionary War to Operation Desert Storm.

The Eagle Inn, a 19th-century stage stop and Vermont landmark, and Women's Fashion On the Eve of the Civil War, were also highlights during the special 250th weekend.

Orwell resident and photographer Christy Alger documented the 250th anniversary weekend with several hundred photographs—itself an historic record of the event. Severel of Alger’s photographs appear in the Eagle print edition this week.